Here’s an idea of which media to use for marketing your business. This can be essential in planning your marketing and give you a realistic timeframe for your creative process, production and mailing or ad placement.

Direct Mail/Business Catalogues:

How it benefits your business:
With direct mail, you’re able to send a high quality ad directly to massive numbers of your target market with a specific message. Budget-wise, if you choose the business catalogues this helps you cut down on your cost-per-lead because you share the costs with other non-competing businesses.

With a printed piece, your reader will be able to hold your advert in their hands and read it at their speed and convenience — enabling a higher chance of them keeping it in case they aren’t ready to call right away.

Brings in more new leads and customers

Boosts brand recognition

Send special promotions or sales

You can also track how many leads you get with 1300 or 1800 phone numbers or Google Analytics to your website.

Timeline:Two weeks from artwork sign off to your advert hitting the streets.

Radio:

How it benefits your business:
In radio, you can reach an enormous audience through drive-time talk programs, morning shows and shock-jocks.

The biggest benefit is that it is relatively affordable. The production of a 30-second spot compared to TV and buying the ad time is well within most small businesses’ budgets, that’s if you don’t choose the prime announcers like Alan Jones. The only downside…it is hard to track your response.

Reach a semi-targeted, large audience at one time

Opportunities to partner with radio stations for giveaways

Works for a reasonably small budget, depending on your location

Timeline:

2 weeks to leave room for changes and editing

Website:

How it benefits your business:
90% of consumers will visit your website before calling or visiting you. That’s a huge percentage! Your website may be the first impression you make, so having a professional, lead-generating site will keep your visitor interested. Downside, is that although you may have a faulous website you have to be on the ball all the time about directing traffic there, and this can be costly.

Main benefits include:

Instant way to capture contact information

Generates leads that can turn into customers

Displays products, videos, company info and promotions in one location

Fast updates and changes

Timeline:
3 weeks to eternity! Changes can be instant, it really depends on your website developer’s timeline and how complex your project may be.

Email Marketing:

How it benefits your business:

Email marketing is an effective follow-up tool that helps you close more leads — plus it’s VERY affordable to set up and you can send with little preparation.

Close more prospects

Increase re-orders

Educate and stay in front of your customer base with e-newsletter

Send last-minute special promotions

Timeline:At minimum, 3 days to a one week to plan for copywriting, design and HTML programming.

Social Media:

How it benefits your business: You can use social media both to talk directly to your customers and to find people who can help you build your business — it will also create a lot of positive word-of-mouth at no cost to you.

Keep your prospects and clients informed in real time

Create a platform to build customer relationships in a non-formal arena

Drive web traffic to your website

Feedback and generate leads through your posts

Post deals, events and other online or offline promotions

Portray a personal image/face of your company

Increase your Google and search engine rankings

Timeline:Instant

TV:

How it benefits your business:

TV allows you to convey your message with sight, sound and motion, which can give your product or service instant credibility. Note: It will be one of the more expensive ways to go — script writing, shooting, production and actors’ pay adds up.

Increase brand and product awareness

Reach large audience to maximize lead potential

Improve customer retention — schedule ads to appear several times during a targeted program to build brand retention

Timeline:
Minimum 6–8 weeks to leave time for production, editing and voiceover work.

About the Publishers

Paragon Media Pty Ltd is the publisher of the business catalogues across Australia. Head office is located at Suite 14, Level 2, 174 Willoughby Road, Crows Nest, NSW, 2065. We can help transform your business into a business with extraordinary growth that attracts clients, creates opportunity, and commands respect.